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Art in the Service of Divine Message

Awarding the winners of different sections, the closing ceremony of the 6th National Festival of Prayer in Camera’s View was held Thursday (Jan 8), in the holy city of Qom at the Department of Culture and Islamic Guidance.
Commenting on the relationship between seminaries and cinema, head of Iran Organization of Cinema and Audio Visual Affairs Hojatollah Ayoubi said, “one of the problems in making religious and spiritual films in the country is ignorance of our filmmakers about what is going on in the seminaries and also unfamiliarity of our clergymen with the medium of cinema as the 7th art.”
Ayoubi pointed to Iran cinema as a rare example in the world “where all the family members can watch a movie together” and said, since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran cinema has produced about 2000 movies, among which “there are just a few movies you can count on your fingers that are not appropriate for a family viewing together.” While abroad, there are hundreds of cinematic productions, but most of the films are not suitable to be seen by all members of a family,” he observed.
Greater Dialogue
Noting the meetings he had with the Qom clergy, he called for more dialogue between “cinema and seminaries.” “Any movie which teaches religious education, whether directly or indirectly, is classified under religious cinema. With this definition, films with issues of humanity, freedom, and man’s dignity are considered religious.”
Also speaking at the event were advisor to the minister and director general of Qom Department of Culture Abdolreza Izadpanah and Ayatollah Javad Fazel-Lankarani respectively, who both emphasized the importance of prayer in Islam and need for “such a sensitive issue to be depicted widely in various forms of art.”
The festival included three sections of short films, movie scripts, and photos. The winners of each category received the festival statuette along with a cash prize, for each section.
Attending the ceremony were a number of cultural and cinema officials, clergymen, and artists whose works participated in the festival.